Hello, Goodbye
by XxXMiyavisHeartXxX
Summary: Her name is Evangeline Renata Fitzgerald. It's a mouthful, she knows. Eva has moved to Tokyo to sell the house she inherited from her father, but will she uncover why she never heard from him? There are many secrets in the house just waiting to be uncovered, and so many more people involved than she would have ever imagined. With a new romance starting and questions to be answered,
1. Chapter 1

**FOCxRuki**

"Evangeline Renata Fitzgerald." The customs guard read her name off of her paperwork and gave her a questioning look. He probably thought there was no way her parents would have named her such a mouthful, but they definitely did. And throughout her life, she'd tried out many different version of her name to make it even the slightest bit easier to introduce herself. Her parents had named her very specifically. _Evangeline_ meant good news. She had been a bit of a surprise to them as they had tried many years to have a child, but found her mother was not able to have her own children. They'd given up for over a year when suddenly she'd made herself known to the world. Her middle name, _Renata_, was named for her mother's favorite opera singer. A relatively unknown artist, she was still her mother's first choice.

Eventually, she shortened her name to Eva for ease, but always introduced herself with all three name, _Eva Renata Fitzgerald_. She remembered her mother would play records to her as a child, hearing the woman's voice carry loud though gentle across the whole room. Baby Eva would only ever fall asleep to her music; a fact that thrilled her mother.

As Eva grew older, she would sit with her mother in the small living room of their apartment coloring idly as her mother worked. She remembered there was never a time when there was silence. Eva thought back on those moments with genuine happiness. They were such simple little memories but they were ones she held dear, and was the reason she refused to drop the middle name entirely.

Taking back her papers, Eva moved with the crowd through the electric sliding doors and into the rest of the airport. There were so many people, but it really didn't bother her. Her heart raced as her eyes darted across the busy building. Signs everywhere in both Japanese and English directed her towards the exit. Even if she had no idea where to go, the crowd pulled her along regardless. _One of many good things about crowds..._

Eva hardly believed she was even here, but she pushed forward and allowed no time to be wasted. She found her luggage and moved out towards the doors. Stepping outside, she was shocked to find the sky covered with heavy clouds and a heavy rainfall hit her almost instantly. The weather report had her expecting sun but it was far from warm outside. Eva rushed to the side of the building and opened her smaller bag to find her jacket. The rain fell quick and heavy, washing the streets as it continued.

"God, damn it... where are you, you little bugger?" Eva groaned in frustration as she continued to dig around before she stopped suddenly. She sighed heavily and shook her head. _I packed my coat in with the boxes I had shipped over! _Of course she did so only because the weather was supposed to be nice when she got here.

This trip had been a little short notice, but she'd done her best to plan the packing. Only a few short weeks ago, she'd been approached by her father's attorney with his will. Although she hadn't heard from him in a number of years, he had left everything to her, including his house in Tokyo. So now here she was, ready to clean out her dead dad's house so she could sell it and get back to her life.

Looking back out to the skies, she sighed heavily and tried to wave a cab down from the cover of the building. Her eyes scanned every cab that passed by, but they were all full. Frowning, she cursed under her breath. _Where the hell are all the free cabs? _A shiver passed through her as she huddled for warmth. At least she had chosen to wear a sweater, though by now it was soaked, as was her hair.

"_Do you need help?" _A deep voice next to her spoke in Japanese, and it took a second for Eva to be able to understand what had just been said to her. It had been such a long time since she'd even used the language, but when she found out she would be coming back here she wasn't worried. Of course, she thought it would all come back to her instantly. Still, it took a minute for her mind to adapt to the new language and she was embarrassed it took her this long to even understand what was said.

Looking over to the man next to her, she smiled a bit apologetically, but a smile on a soaking wet girl probably came across more sad than apologetic. The man who spoke to her was a shorter man, though not shorter than herself, and was wearing a black beanie with his blond hair poking out from underneath. There was a surgical mask over his face, but Eva already knew how common that would be here. His eyes smiled kindly at her as he stepped closer, moving the umbrella he held over so that they were both safe from the violent pouring rain.

"_Sorry...my Japanese is still a little rusty." _She struggled through the sentence, though it started to flow more naturally as she continued talking. "_I wasn't expecting it to be raining today. I'm afraid I didn't bring anything for this weather. I'm trying to get a taxi but they're all full." _Eva chuckled again, aware she was probably rambling a bit and was most likely making a fool of herself, but she barely had control of herself at the best of times. In this situation, it was unavoidable. Her awkward self was sure to emerge, and it had.

The man nodded a bit and chuckled. "_If you want a cab, you have to go to the area where they pick up passengers. They don't stop just anywhere like in other countries. I can show you where to go if you'd like." _Eva smiled and nodded before bowing as she remembered customs were indeed far different here. She picked up her backpack but the man took her heavier bag for her, still keeping the umbrella above them.

"_Arigatou gozaimasu."_ She spoke softly, smiling a bit at him as they walked. Surprisingly, the area for taxi pick up was a bit of a walk from the door she had been standing near. With nearly a ten minute walk in the rain, she spoke with the man as her Japanese fully returned to normal.

"_I'm Takanori, by the way. Nice to meet you." _The man spoke politely, bowing his head a little as they walked. Eva smiled a bit at him and nodded.

"_My name is Eva Renata Fitzgerald." _She couldn't help but giggle a bit as the man looked at her with slightly a slightly surprised look. "_Yeah, it's a mouthful. You can just call me Eva, it's fine." _He nodded and moved forward.

"_Are you here on vacation?" _He asked. His eyes glanced ahead of them briefly before returning to her. Eva shook her head and bit her lip before she shrugged.

"_I'm here to deal with some family business. I shouldn't be here too long, but if I have some time I wouldn't mind playing tourist and exploring." _He laughed at that and nodded.

"_There is a lot to see...but it's best to have a local show you around. They'll be able to show you the better, hidden places. A lot of tourist places aren't very traditional anymore. So if that's what you're looking to see, it's best to get a guide." _Eva listened quiet and nodded, smiling a bit as they stopped at the row of cabs.

"_Thanks for the advice, Takanori-san, and thanks again for showing me where to go. I honestly don't think I would have made it to here without you." _Eva smiled a bit and bowed once more politely. "_Perhaps we'll run into each other again, ne?"_

The two chuckled a bit at that, as the chances were actually quite low, but said their goodbyes quickly. Eva stepped into the cab quietly and pulled up the address to her father's house, giving it to the driver. The car pulled away slowly, but Eva looked back through the window and waved once more to the blonde man watching her go. His gloved hand lifted to wave back, his shoulders shook with laughter as she drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

It was quite the experience driving through Tokyo in the cab. Eva was able to see the tall buildings and the swarms of people on their way home from work. It was a busy city, and she loved that. The driver had a radio station playing quietly in the background, and the quick paced chatter in Japanese felt a bit comforting to her, despite her eagerness to make this trip short.

Her mind wandered as they drove through busy intersections, taking their time to pass by the people walking. Her father had disappeared when she was only ten. Eva had no idea what caused the disappearance, or why she never heard anything from him after that. Her mother had raised her alone in the busy streets of San Francisco and had tried to shield her from the dark side of the city. Eva loved her mother beyond anything and the two of them co-existed happily on their own.

Eva lived with her mother until her departure to college. Her mother had insisted on Eva spending her first year on campus. According to her, Eva would want the _full experience._ While she appreciated the sentiment, and truly did have a great time, she missed having her mom nearby. She was able to visit often enough, but exam time was crazy and it was over a month since her last visit when she'd gotten the news about her mother's passing.

Eva blinked and shook her head, looking away from the streets. She didn't want to think about that. It had been a really tough time for her. Not having been able to say goodbye was hardest. She spent hours sitting alone in her mother's study listening to her records. That was when the only letter she'd ever gotten from her father arrived. It expressed his condolences and mentioned a hope of reconnecting with Eva. At the time, Eva had brushed it off with anger. She had no idea how her father even found out about her mother's passing, but she felt strongly that it was not the opportunity for him to reconnect with her. She resented him for even trying.

When she didn't respond, she assumed he got the message as another letter never came. She moved on, went back to school and got her degree. Eva had moved to her mother's place, had redecorated and found herself a good job. Of course, nothing good lasts long as she got the call soon after about her father's passing and the will that he left behind.

Eva scoffed to herself as she thought about the stupid will that was neatly tucked away in her bag. He'd left everything to her. It was a shock at first. This man she'd never really had a connection with had left nearly $700,000 in her name along with all of his possessions. It was an overwhelming bit of news, and it took her a few days before she'd even started to think about what to do. The money was safely tucked away in her account now, and she was considering starting her own business with the money. At least he would have been good for something in her life.

But the house...was in Japan. Her first thought was to have someone sell it for her, so she wouldn't have to even be involved, but he made that difficult for her. His attorney had informed her that she would have to go there herself as stipulated in the will. It was frustrating, but with the new balance in her bank account, it wasn't impossible. Besides, the sooner she dealt with this, the sooner she was able to move on and forget the whole ordeal.

The cab stopped outside a beautiful but simple home. Eva looked out the window at it quietly, not really sure what to think. It was a lovely home from the outside and the garden looked like someone took very good care of it.

"_Do you need any help carrying your bags?" _The driver asked as she finished paying. Smiling a bit at the man, Eva shook her head but bowed her head gratefully.

"_A co-worker of my father's is supposed to be meeting me here. I'll be fine." _She said before getting out. The man nodded and waved to her as she bowed once more to him before driving off. Looking back up to the house, she took it in. It was a simple style but she rather liked it. It had nice red cedar clapboard and very traditional wood gates. It was so simple but the traditional feel it had made her appreciate it a bit more.

Eva looked around but didn't see anyone waiting around for her, so she went in alone. The place was quite dark as the blinds were all shut and there was a thin layer of dust on everything. It had been three weeks since she'd first found out about her father's passing. Was it possible that nobody had come in here since then? Leaving the bag by the front door, she stepped up into the main room. A few rays of sunlight were peeking through the slats which caused a slight orange glow to light up the room. It was a little messy with books spread across the table and CDs littered across the floor near the radio.

All and all, with the exception of the dust, it looked like someone still lived here. Eva wandered around a little bit more. She wasn't sure what she was going to see or if she wanted to see it. Still, she moved into a little closer and noticed photos sitting on the bookshelves. Looking closer, she recognized her father, though he was much older than in any photos she remembered.

There were many photos with this older version of her father throughout the room. They were all with a group of guys around her age. Various photos included these guys, some in formal kimonos and others in fancy suits. Eva continued around the room as she looked at the photos. Whoever these men were, they seemed to have been a big part of her father's life. A little jealousy started to burn in her chest which surprised her. Although she was certain her feelings towards her father weren't any more than resentment, seeing him with these guys so much felt _uncomfortable._

"_Hello?_" A voice echoed through the empty house and broke Eva from her thoughts. She looked away from the photos and walked back over to the front door. A man stood waiting at the door and immediately Eva recognized him as one of the men from the pictures. He smiled at her and waved and she couldn't help but grin. _God, that smile is infectious...who is he?_

"_Oh, hello!" _He spoke happily when he saw her. "_You must be Evangeline? My name is Kai. I'm supposed to be meeting you here today. Seems you found your way in on your own,_ _huh?_" He spoke cheerily and it made Eva relax. She nodded a bit and grinned.

"_Oh, hi! Yes, sorry, I had a key so I just came in. Kai, is it?" _He nodded and she motioned for him to come inside, just then turning the lights on so they could see. It took a second for her eyes to adjust and was shocked at just how much dust was in the air. "_Sorry for the dust. It's a bit dirty in here..._" She moved into the kitchen with him, searching around for a glass to get him some water. She may have just gotten here, but she knew how to be a good host regardless. _If only she could find what she needed..._

"_Oh, well nobody has really...been in here since Naito-san passed away..._" Eva noticed that he sounded quiet upset about the passing of her father. She remembered that this man would have been a co-worker of her father's plus he was in all of the photos. _They must have been close..._ Eva switched her search to items to make tea, but still wasn't able to find anything. Eva jumped when Kai suddenly appeared next to her and opened the last cupboard.

"_The tea is in here...that's what you're looking for, right?"_ He smiled at her as he took out the tea and kettle. Eva was caught off guard and a little confused but took the items as they were offered to her. He smiled at her and helped her make the tea.

"_I've seen you in a lot of pictures around here. You knew my dad well, didn't you?"_ Kai smiled sadly at her and nodded.

"_You could say that..."_ He spoke as he prepared the tea, showing her where to find the cups. Eva sat down at the table with him and poured the tea. "_I'm sure you're talking about the photos in the living room, right? That's my band he's with in those photos. He managed us basically our whole careers. Since about...2003, I believe. Right when I joined the band."_

Eva nodded as she listened. _So he ran away from his family...to manage a band in another country?_ It didn't really add up but the information made her feel more anger towards the man. It was selfish and she just couldn't understand why someone would ever do that to his family.

"_I never knew that's what he was doing. I wonder what caused him to make that choice."_ She didn't really feel like wearing her heart on her sleeve about this, especially not with someone who obviously thought very highly of her father. Her own issues with her father were not reason enough to poison someone else's opinion of him. For all she knew, her father could have been really kind to these guys.

"_Well," _Kai spoke up after he'd had a sip of the tea. "_He wanted to look after me, I guess. Since he'd missed out on a lot of my life already, he said once that it was his way of making up for all the time that was lost. Not that I really ever held that lost time against him, mind you."_ Eva looked up at him confused. She had no idea what Kai was talking about now. Her confusion contorted her lips into a frown, and she pressed for more information.

"_Time lost? He knew you before he moved here?"_ She watched him carefully, but tried not to make it obvious that she was pushing for information at this point. Kai looked at her strangely, but shook his head.

"_Not really. He came out here to meet me. He and my mother had been talking for a bit before that, too. I thought you knew about all of this, to be honest. Considering the situation, you know."_ Kai seemed to be speaking freely, but the things he was saying bugged her. She didn't understand and nothing was making sense. Was her father having an affair? Was that why he left all those years ago?

"_I'm sorry," _she spoke up finally, "_What do you mean by the situation?"_


	3. Chapter 3

Eva's shoulders were tense as she looked at the man across from her. The longer that Kai was silent, the more questions ran through her head over exactly what situation had convinced her father to abandon her for him. If her guess was correct, her father was having an affair at the time of his disappearance. The way it sounded to her, he'd found a new family he favored more. Her stomach felt unsettled by this assumption and she glanced back to Kai for any sign that she might be right.

"My mother and your father were very close friends for a really long time. I guess they went to high school together and stayed close afterwards, but at some point my father got jealous and forced them to cut off contact." Kai looked at the table quietly as he talked, and Eva was able to tell that this story was still a bit of a sore subject for Kai, and she wondered why. Of course, the chances of an affair were still possible, so she was wary.

"My mom felt really guilty about letting that happen. Of course, my father was never an easy man to please. He was furious when I first told him about my ambitions. It's a difficult career, and one a lot of families in Japan would never approve for their sons." Kai glanced at her, explaining the situation and Eva listened politely. After all, even though Kai's personal story might seem of no interest to her, it involved her father and became her story as well. She couldn't figure out how or why, but it was certain Kai would explain that shortly.

"He and my mother fought over this for such a long time. It was really...difficult," He paused for a moment, needing a moment to regain his composure. Eva reached out and touched his hand gently, feeling his slight distress. She'd had her own struggles growing up, but at the very least her mother had always supported her in everything she did. To have a parent disapprove would be difficult, she thought.

"Eventually, he realized that I wasn't going to change my mind and neither was my mother and he left us," Kai said softly, shrugging off the sad feeling and sitting up straight. "Anyways, I was about twenty then so I was able to work to help support us and she was able to reach out to Naito-san again. He came to see us around..." He trailed off, trying to think.

"2002," Eva spoke up. She remembered the year her dad left like it had just happened. It had been so sudden and to this day she didn't understand it. Her mother never liked to talk about it. "Christmas time, right?" Kai looked at her and nodded.

"That's right."

"I remember him leaving then. I was ten," Eva said quietly, playing with her shirt. "But he never said anything to me about why. Neither did my mother. And after that, I never heard from him again." Kai looked at her, surprise written all over his face.

"He did mention that he lost touch with his daughter, but I assumed you knew why he was here and chose not to contact him again." Eva frowned, a bit insulted by the statement before remembering that Kai didn't actually know her, so wouldn't know what kind of person she was.

"No, he just left and I never knew why." The conversation ended like that for a bit, before Eva was eager to change the subject. "So, he stayed with you guys then?" Kai nodded.

"Not at first, but when my mom got sick he moved in so that he could help her when I couldn't." Eva wasn't really sure if she should approach that with more questions. Certainly he didn't want to divulge all this information to someone he barely knew. "After she died, he stayed with me and helped me and my band." Eva just nodded quietly.

"I'm sorry about your mom." Hearing about his mother's passing brought tears to her own eyes as she remembered the recent sting of her own mother's death. Pulling away, she got up and cleaned up the tea mess. In the midst of conversation, she'd almost forgotten why she was here.

"Well, I just need to get this place sold and I'll be out of your hair. I don't plan on sticking around for too long." Leaning against the counter, she looked out the kitchen window at the back yard and noticed an old swing tied to the tree. Information clicked in her head and she looked back at Kai. "Was this your mother's place, too?"

Kai looked at her and shook his head. "No, he bought this place long after she passed. With the band touring as much as we were, he wanted a place for me and him to stay when we weren't moving around." Eva looked back at him and nodded.

"But you don't live here now?"

"I have a place downtown now. I haven't lived here in years." Again, she nodded quietly and wandered back into the living room. Her father had had a whole other life living here, and she'd not been a part of it. Years of forming new relationships and even taking someone else's child under his supervision and still she had not received one word from him. She really shouldn't have been hurt by this anymore. Thirteen years of living without your father really weakens any hope of him returning or giving a shit.

"Are you sure that you want to sell this place?" Kai had followed her into the living room, hands in his pockets as he looked around, a smile playing on his lips as he glanced at the different photos. "He left it to you for a reason. I may not know what that reason was, but certainly it's worth considering." Eva looked over at him and sighed.

"Look, I'm sure he was a good guy for you. He probably played the 'dad' role really well for you, but to me he was just a shadow. Someone who used to be there in the memories I barely have. Any sentiment from him is really lost on me." She bit her lip as Kai seemed a bit taken aback by the harsh words. "I don't want to try and change your opinion of him. He was probably a completely different person to you. But all I want is this mess behind me so I can go home." Kai nodded quietly and sighed, going over to her, picking up a photo of her father with the band.

"If that's what you want, I'll help you. There's a lot of stuff in here to go through before you'll be able to put this place on the market. It's too much work for one person." Surprised by his offer to help, Eva couldn't help but smile a bit at him.

"That's a very generous offer. I assumed you would just stop by to make sure I found the place alright and I wouldn't see you again. Then again, I assumed you were just a colleague, not family." As weird as it sounded coming from her, it was clear that to her father, Kai _was_ family. The man smiled at her and shrugged.

"Honestly, a lot of the stuff here is my mother's and I wouldn't mind keeping some of it, so you'd really be doing me a favor, too." Eva nodded and smiled a bit. _At least she'd have some help. _ Kai sighed and put the photo down again with one last reminiscent glance.

Eva looked at the frame he had been holding, and the photo within. Her father was standing next to Kai with his arm wrapped around his shoulder, a proud smile on his face. She pushed away her jealousy and looked at the other guys. They were all a pretty attractive bunch. Even Kai was good looking now that she thought about it. As her eyes glanced over the men in the photo again, she frowned as her glance stopped on the man next to Kai, and quickly scooped the frame up into her own grip.

"I know this guy..." She said softly, tilting her head as she tried to remember where from. The face looked so familiar. He was a shorter guy with black and red hair. _Very punk. _Kai looked over her shoulder at the photo.

"Oh, that's our vocalist, Ruki. This photo is quite old though, from around 2006." Kai chuckled a bit. "We all look so young here, it's crazy. _Chichi_ looks young, too." He smiled a bit as he looked at the photo. "Anyways, I don't know how you'd know Ruki, unless you know our band from somewhere? Maybe you saw him on a magazine or something?" Eva didn't think that was it, but she let it go. Kai was right; there was no way she would actually know the guy. "You're going to be here for a little while, right?" Eva nodded.

"Yeah, probably a month or two so I can get everything here finished." Eva put the frame down again, and looked back at Kai.

"Well, I'll introduce you to the guys, then. Maybe we can convince them to help us, too." He laughed, a big grin coming to his face. Eva couldn't help but feel a bit lighter seeing his smile. _Geez, this guy's good mood sure is infectious. This might not be so bad, after all. _


End file.
